First, let me introduce me. My name is Bruno Carvalho and i've been playing and GM'ing since the nineties (1994, to be exact). I'm from Brazil and a huge fan of the Returner's FFRPG (been playing it since the First Edition - and yes, it was EVEN WORSE than the dreaded second). Upon the death of the Returner's group and SeeD's decision to move to computer-assisted gaming (as they openly recognize FFRPG SeeD is optimized for IRC gaming and not for tabletop), there was a Brazilian game designer called Fernanda Parker who took the third edition and translated it to Portuguese, maintaining it alive here in Brazil... until 2014. That year, she decided to abandon the project to real life issues.

So I decided to keep the steam going, and to do that I'd rather adress some of the glaring problems with Third Edition. And after looking at it for a while, it seemed that the best course of action was to start it anew and create a new game, instead of trying to fix its myriad of problems. So, since January 2015, I've been creating what I (without any modesty, I confess) call the FFRPG Fourth Edition. I've taken inspiration not only from Returner's FFRPG, but also in SeeD, Zodiac, FFd6 and other FFRPG sources available.

And it's done. Let me detail its key features:

a) Compact, rules light gamingThe actual game book have 125 pages total, in comparison to 3rd Edition's over 400. And with most of it being lists for Jobs, spells and equipment, you'll be amazed at how quick and easy you can do character creation and the actual gameplay.

b) Collaborative narrativeIn character creation and during play, the players can use the built-in collaborative mechanics to drive the story foward. This way, the GM get inputs before and during play to what story better suits its players - and while the GM still have the final word, the players have the tools to really feel in the driver's seat of the story.

c) Intuitive task resolutionThe task resolution mechanics uses a intuitive system, without tables or abitrary difficulty scales. Characters of all levels can contribute to meet the party's goals, without creating the situation where only optimized characters can have a chance of sucess in their area of expertise.

d) Customizable charactersAlbeit still working on a class/level structure, the job system presents 17 unique jobs with multiclassing rules that allow over 80 unique job combinations. Also, the job descriptions present several different abilities and spells who can be chosen or not - no more "every swordmaster knows the same skills" from 3rd Edition.

e) Inverted leveling up systemInstead of the traditional "Gain XP -> Level Up -> Improve Stats", you invert the logic, and you "Gain XP -> Improve Stats -> Level Up", akin to systems like L5R (but simpler). In this way, characters of distinct levels can exist even with the same XP, and that leads to better balanced spels and skills that use Character Level (no more Lv.5 Death kiling either no one or your entire party)

f) Fluid combat initiativeInstead of having fixed combat initiative orders, the system uses a phase-based system(akin to the 7th Sea combat mechanics) that allows for another level of tactical combat. Due to the increased complexity of this mechanic, the combat movement is very simplified and the use of tactical maps and miniatures is discouraged.

g) Character-driven advancement systemInstead of just awarding XP for "killing monsters and completing missions", the character advancement system depends on the players character's motives and personality. This allows the players, as a group, to signal to the GM the kind of adventures they want to play. "Killing monsters" and "Completing Missions" are still valid options to earn XP, but it's not mandatory or the sole way.

Anyway, thanks for your patience reading this long post! Hope you all have fun and good games!

DOWNLOAD SECTION (I'll try to keep this updated as I release more books)

To those not following the game's subreddit: there is a new Secondary Job in the oven, to be released with the upcoming FFT Worldbook. So, in a Unearthed Arcana, here you got its first version (DISCLAIMER: This Job is not yet playtested. Use at your own risk):

New Secondary Job: Squire

While many believe that a squire is just a knight in training, some Squires never leave this status. Forgoing formal training, they never progress beyond the basic training of another Job, relying on their innate talents and intuition to progress. Be a Squire if you want to control the battlefield using offensive actions instead of reacting. Abilities marked with # requires the Map combat rules.

Throw Stone: Requires Earth and Air 2. You gain the Ranged Quick physical action !Throw Stone. You gather a rock and throw at your opponent, making an Air vs Air, dif 40 attack. If you hit, you deal Crush-elemental damage equal to the level-appropriate Throwing Weapon’s damage.

Dash#: Requires Earth 3. You gain the Melee Quick physical action !Dash. You bodyslam at your target, attacking with your weapon. Do a weapon attack, inflicting normal damage, and pushing your target one square backwards. If you manage to achieve a critical hit, the target is also gains the Immobilize status until after his next action.

Move-Up#: Requires Air 3. Increase your Move by 1.

Accumulate: Core Ability earned at level 19. You gain the Slow(4) Physical action !Focus. Using it, you accumulate strength for your next blows. You gain the Strengthen (Physical) status until the end of the next round. Specialties:

Mana Well: Requires Water level 10. Your !Focus action can be used to give the Strengthen (Magic) status effect instead of Strengthen(Physical).

Counter Tackle: Requires Air 8. Whenever an enemy tries to use the !Escape action against you, increase his difficulty by 20.

Magical Traps#: Requires Fire and Earth 11. You may create magical traps. When using a magical ability or Spell, you may target a square in range and any phase up to the end of the next round. At the start of the chosen phase, the Ability or Spell detonates, inflicting its effects, and using the chosen square as the origin point of the Area of Effect, if applicable. Whenever a character moves into the chosen square before the chosen phase, you may detonate the trap early.

Overwhelm Defenses: Core Ability earned at level 35. Once per phase, when you miss an attack, you may increase the difficulty by 20, to a maximum of 99, to re-roll it.

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